The present invention generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to lockable manual safety mechanisms suitable for auto-loading pistols including those of a compact size.
Compact firearms, such as semiautomatic auto-loading pistols for concealed carry applications by law enforcement personnel and permitted civilians, present numerous design challenges due to the need to provide essentially the same functionality as full-size pistols, but in a relatively smaller physical package. Some compact pistols may have typical lengths between about 5-6 inches and weigh less than one pound in contrast to their longer and heavier full-size counterparts. Accordingly, it is desirable to minimize size and weight of these subcompact pistols to facilitate concealed carry by keeping the number of components required for a fully-functional pistol to a minimum without sacrificing functionality. Therefore, efficient use of limited available space which is at a premium is essential to providing lightweight and compact pistols suitable for concealed carry.
Some manually-operated lockable safety mechanisms employed in full size pistols may comprise numerous separate components and complexity which are not readily adaptable to smaller compact pistol formats where efficient use of limited available space is a prime design goal. Accordingly, a lockable manually operated mechanism suitable for such compact pistols is desired.